The present invention relates generally to valves and, more particularly, to a valve for use in vehicle fuel systems and functioning by remaining open during normal vehicular travel, but closing to prevent fuel line leaks when the vehicle partially or totally rolls over.
In many automobile accidents the occupants of the automobile would not be injured, or not be injured so severely, but for the occurrence of fires caused by the leakage of fuel from the automotive fuel system. This problem has been recognized for sometime and attempts have been made to prevent the leakage of fuel under such conditions. One of the solutions to this problem is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,708 which relates to a valve designed to close when the valve is tilted by a predetermined amount from its original installed position. Although this type of valve has been known since the early 1950's, as evidenced by this patent, it has not achieved widespread commercial success. The reason for this is not clear, but it is surmised that a valve of this type could easily become jammed because of the tight fit of certain of the parts which are designed to slide with respect to each other. Small quantities of impurities would only tend to amplify this problem if they were to be deposited between the valving member and the bore in which it is to reciprocate.